Lawrence
by LizzieHouse
Summary: Sam Winchester has a nightmare about their old family home in Lawrence, Kansas. Will the Winchesters be able to save the family living there now from the monster Sam has seen? Based on the Home episode of Supernatural.
1. Chapter 1

Sam, Dean, and Maria are asleep in their motel room. Maria and Dean share a bed, as always; Dean faces the door and Maria faces Sam's bed. Sam stirs in his sleep, having another nightmare. He grumbles a bit and turns over, now lying on his back. He grunts more in his sleep, a bit louder this time. Maria's eyes snap open at the sound and she looks at Sam, who is still grumbling. Dean is still fast asleep as Maria sees Sam's eyes open. He looks around confusedly, but doesn't look in his older siblings' direction. Maria sighs inwardly and tries to go back to sleep.

The next morning, Dean and Maria are sitting at the little table in their motel room, gathered around their laptop and looking for their next hunt. Sam sits on his bed, drawing in a notebook and not really paying attention to Dean's words. Maria watches Sam sadly; she hasn't told him that she knows he's been having nightmares again.

"All right. We've been cruisin' some websites. I think we found a few candidates for our next gig. A fishing trawler found off the coast of Cali—its crew vanished. And, uh, we got some cattle mutilations in West Texas. Hey," Dean says. Sam finally looks up from his drawing. "Am I boring you with his hunting evil stuff?"

"No, I'm listening," Sam says, returning to his drawing. He doesn't notice Maria looking at him with concern. "Keep going."

"And, here, a Sacramento man shot himself in the head. Three times," Dean continues. He waves a hand to try to get Sam to look at him when he sees he has returned his attention to his drawing. "Any of these things blowin' up your skirt, pal?"

"Dean, leave him alone," Maria scolds him quietly. Both Dean and Sam ignore her. Sam gets up and searches through his duffle bag after studying his drawing a bit more closely.

"Wait. I've seen this."

"Seen what? What are you doing?" Dean asks, thoroughly confused. Maria just looks at Sam with concern. Sam pulls out their dad's journal and finds a picture of their family taken when he was just a baby. Mary Winchester is holding baby Sam, and John is holding a young Dean and Maria. They are standing in front of their Lawrence, Kansas home, a tree in the background; the same tree Sam drew in his notebook.

"Dean, Maria, I know where we have to go next."

"Where?" Maria asks.

"Back home—back to Kansas."

"Okay, random," Dean says. "Where'd that come from?"

"All right, um, this photo was taken in front of our old house, right?" Sam asks, showing the photo to Maria and Dean. "The house where Mom died?"

"Yeah," Maria answers, looking at her younger brother with apprehension.

"And it didn't burn down, right?" Sam continues. "I mean, not completely, they rebuilt it, right?"

"I guess so, yeah," Dean replies. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"Okay, look, this is gonna sound crazy but…the people who live in our old house—I think they might be in danger."

"Why would you think that?" Dean asks quickly.

"Uh…it's just, um…look, just trust me on this, okay?" Sam says. He starts to walk away, but Dean and Maria follow him.

"Wait, whoa, whoa, trust you?" Dean asks incredulously.

"Yeah," Sam replies.

"Come on, man, that's weak," Dean argues. "You gotta give us a little bit more than that."

"I can't really explain it is all."

"Well, tough. We're not going anywhere until you do," Dean counters.

"Is this about the nightmares?" Maria asks suddenly. Both Sam and Dean look at her, shocked.

"How do you know about—" Sam begins, but Maria cuts him off.

"I've heard you, Sam. You aren't exactly a quiet sleeper," she says, crossing her arms. Sam sighs and Dean waits expectantly for Sam to explain himself.

"Maria's right. I have these nightmares. And sometimes…they come true."

"Come again?" Dean says, stunned. Maria's mouth drops open; neither of the older Winchester siblings was expecting this.

"Look, Dean, Maria…I dreamt about Jessica's death—for days before it happened."

"Sam, people have weird dreams," Maria says, trying to make sense of this. She and Dean sit down on their bed. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

"No, I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything, and I didn't do anything about it 'cause I didn't believe it. And now I'm dreaming about that tree, about our house, and about some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, that's where it all started, you guys, this has to mean something, right?"

"I don't know," Dean says, overwhelmed. Maria says nothing, staring at the bedspread.

"What do you mean you don't know? This woman might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica!"

"All right, just slow down, would ya?" Dean says, standing up. He begins to pace. "I mean, first you tell us that you've got the Shining? And then you tell us that we've gotta go back home? Especially when…"

"When what?" Sam asks.

"When we swore to ourselves that we would never go back there," Maria says quietly, still looking at the bedspread. Dean nods.

"Look, Maria, Dean, we have to check this out," Sam says softly, looking from his sister to his brother. "Just to make sure."

"I know we do," Dean says. Maria looks up at Dean and then over to Sam. She nods sadly.


	2. Chapter 2

The entire drive to Lawrence, Maria's stomach is in knots. She isn't sure how she feels about anything: Sam's nightmares, going back to the house where her mother died, how the family will react when they arrive at their old house. 'Is this the thing that killed mom and Jess?' Maria wondered. The thought made her sick to her stomach; they had been hunting this thing for almost her entire life and now they might be driving right into its clutches. But more than anything, Maria missed her father. 'This could be it, and Daddy isn't even here.'

They finally pull up in front of their old family home, rebuilt after the fire that took their mother. The Winchester siblings look up at the house sadly. Sam glances at his siblings and notices the sullen looks on their faces.

"You two gonna be all right?" Sam asks them.

"Let me get back to you on that," Dean replies. Maria says nothing. They all get out of the car and walk to the front door. Sam knocks while Dean and Maria stand slightly behind him. Maria grabs Dean's hand and grips it tight. Dean squeezes her hand to reassure her that he's there and that everything is going to be okay. A woman opens the door and Sam is slightly shocked to see the woman from his dream.

"Yes?" the young woman asks the three Winchesters.

"Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but we're with the Federal—" Dean begins, but Sam cuts him off.

"I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean, and my sister, Maria. We used to live here. You know, we were just drivin' by, and we were wondering if we could come see the old place."

"Winchester…yeah, that's so funny. You know, I think I found some of your photos the other night," the woman says.

"You did?" Maria asks. The woman nods and steps aside to let them in.

"Come on in. I'm Jenny, by the way," she answers. The three Winchesters walk inside and follow Jenny into the kitchen. A young girl is at the table doing homework and a toddler is in his playpen.

"Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice!" the toddler chants from his playpen while he jumps up and down.

"That's Ritchie. He's kind of a juice junkie. But, hey, at least he won't get dirty," Jenny says, taking a sippy cup out of the fridge and handing it to the toddler. She walks over to the young girl. "Sari, this is Sam, Dean, and Maria. They used to live here."

"Hi," Sari says. Dean waves.

"Hey," Maria says, smiling.

"Hey, Sari," Sam says kindly.

"So, you just moved in?" Dean asks.

"Yeah, from Wichita," Jenny replies.

"Do you have family here, or…?" Maria asks.

"No. I just, uh…needed a fresh start, that's all," Jenny says a bit awkwardly. "So, new town, new job—I mean, as soon as I find one. New house."

"So, how you likin' it so far?" Sam asks conversationally.

"Well, uh, all due respect to your childhood home—I mean, I'm sure you had lots of happy memories here," Jenny begins. Dean and Maria smile weakly at the comment. "But this place has its issues."

"What do you mean?" Maria asks.

"Well, it's just getting old. Like the wiring, you know? We've got flickering lights almost hourly."

"Oh, that's too bad," Dean says. "What else?"

"Um…sink's backed up, there's rats in the basement," Jenny continues, but pauses. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain."

"No," Dean says, shaking his head to show that she hasn't offended them. "Have you seen the rats, or have you just heard scratching?"

"It's just the scratching, actually," Jenny answers.

"Mom?" Sari says. Jenny kneels down next to her. "Ask them if it was here when they lived here."

"What, Sari?" Maria asks, taking a step closer to the girl. The little girl looks up at Maria.

"The thing in my closet."

"Oh, no, baby, there was nothing in their closets," Jenny tells her daughter, then looks up at Sam, Dean, and Maria. "Right?"

"Right," Sam replies. "No, no, of course not."

"She had a nightmare the other night," Jenny explains to the three Winchesters.

"I wasn't dreaming. It came into my bedroom—and it was on fire," Sari says. Maria, Dean, and Sam exchange shocked looks.

* * *

Dean, Maria, and Sam walk back to the Impala. Once they are out of earshot of Jenny, they begin talking about what Sari had seen. Sam and Maria are barely able to keep the panic from seeping into their voices.

"You hear that?" Sam says to his older siblings. "A figure on fire."

"And that woman, Jenny, that was the woman in your dreams?" Maria asks as calmly as she can manage.

"Yeah. And you hear what she was talking about?" Sam replies. "Scratching, flickering lights, both signs of a malevolent spirit."

"Yeah, well, I'm just freaked out that your weirdo visions are comin' true," Dean says as they all pile into the car.

"Well, forget about that for a minute," Sam says, still panicking. "The thing in the house, do you think it's the thing that killed Mom and Jessica?"

"I don't know!" Maria says, her worry starting to get the best of her.

"Well, I mean, has it come back or has it been here the whole time?" Sam asks.

"Or maybe it's something else entirely. We don't know yet," Dean says, trying to calm his younger siblings down. He begins driving to a gas station they passed on the way into town.

"Well, those people are in danger," Sam says, trying to calm down. "We have to get 'em out of that house."

"And we will," Maria says, taking a deep, calming breath. 'Dean's right,' she thinks. 'We don't know what this is for sure yet.' She looks out the window, completely lost in thought.

"No, I mean now," Sam says, still not calm.

"And how are you gonna do that, huh?" Dean asks, trying to put a little sense into the situation. He parks the car in front of one of the gas pumps. "You got a story that she's gonna believe?"

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Sam asks.

"We just gotta chill out, that's all," Dean replies calmly. "You know, if this was any other kind of job, what would we do?"

"We'd try to figure out what we were dealing with," Sam sighs. "We dig into the history of the house."

"Exactly," Dean says. "Except this time, we already know what happened."

"Yeah, but how much do we know?" Sam asks. "I mean, how much do you actually remember?"

"About that night, you mean?" Dean asks. Maria is broken out of her daze at her older brother's words. She stares at Dean sadly.

"Yeah," Sam says, urging him to tell them his story.

"Not much. I remember the fire…the heat," Dean says, then pauses. "And then I carried you out the front door."

"You did?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, what, you never knew that?" Dean says.

"No," Sam says, shaking his head. He turns his attention to his sister. "What do you remember, Maria?"

"Just that is was really hot. And I was so scared, the most scared I've ever been in my whole life," Maria says softly. Both Sam and Dean are looking at her a little anxiously. She pauses for a second, struggling to remember more about that terrible night. "And I guess I was right behind Dean when he carried you out of the house."

"And, well, you both know Dad's story as well as I do," Dean says. "Mom was…was on the ceiling. And whatever put here there was long gone by the time Dad found her."

"And he never had a theory about what did it?" Sam asks.

"If he did, he kept it to himself," Dean replies. "God knows we asked him enough times."

"Okay. So if we're gonna figure out what's goin' on now…we have to figure out what happened back then. And see if it's the same thing," Sam says.

"Yeah. We'll talk to Dad's friends, neighbors, people who were there at the time," Dean says. Sam and Maria are silent for a moment before Sam speaks.

"Does this feel like just another job to either of you?" Sam asks. Dean says nothing for a moment, but finally shakes his head. Maria opens the back door of the Impala and slides out.

"I'll be right back, you guys. I gotta go to the bathroom," she says on her way out of the car. Sam and Dean just nod to her. She walks away and turns a corner, standing next to the bathroom door. She takes out her cellphone and, making sure that no one can see her, dials a number.

"This is John Winchester. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 785-555-0179. Or my daughter, Maria. 785-555-5223. They can help," the voicemail beeps.

"Daddy? I know we've left you messages before. I don't even know if you'll get 'em," Maria pauses, clearing her throat to keep from crying. "But I'm with Sam and Dean. And we're in Lawrence. And there's something in our old house. I don't know if it's the thing that killed Mom or not, but…" her voice breaks as she begins to cry. Tears run down her face as she sobs the words into the phone. "…I don't know what to do. So, whatever you're doin', if you could get here. Please. I need your help, Daddy. I love you…just…please. Come home."

Maria hangs up the phone, not sure that her father would even get her message. Tears continue to stream down her face, as she walks into the bathroom to clean herself up. She looks in the grimy mirror and sees her reflection: a girl with dark wavy hair pulled back into a disheveled ponytail, dark brown eyes gleaming with tears, and streaks of water down her face from the tears that have already fallen. But more than that, she sees a girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders, a girl who just wants her daddy to come back and help her and her brothers. She feels broken and lost and scared; she hasn't felt this way since the fire. But she collects herself, grabbing a paper towel and dabbing her eyes. She cleans herself up quite nicely, she thinks. She can't let her brothers know she's been crying. They depend on her to be strong, and she'll show them just how strong she really is.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam, Dean, and Maria arrive at Guenther's Auto Repair, asking to speak to the owner. The mechanic asks them to wait a minute while he goes to find him. As they wait, Dean pokes around the small garage while Sam looks down at Maria worriedly. Maria, sensing Sam's eyes on her, looks up at him. He looks down at her curiously, but she only smiles, trying to show him that she's really fine. Sometimes it's a good thing that Sam is so in tune with her emotions; now is not one of those times. Dean walks back toward them and looks at them both strangely, but turns around quickly when the owner of the garage introduces himself.

"Hi, I'm Officer Page," Maria says, flashing a small smile. She points to Dean and Sam, introducing them. "This is Officer Plant and Officer Bonham. We'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's all right."

"Sure, I guess," the owner replies.

"So you and John Winchester, you used to own this garage together?" Dean asks, cutting right to the chase.

"Yeah, we used to, a long time ago. Matter of fact, it must be, uh...twenty years since John disappeared. So why the cops interested all of a sudden?"

"Oh, we're re-opening some of our unsolved cases, and the Winchester disappearance is one of 'em," Maria explains.

"Oh, well, what do you wanna know about John?" the owner asks.

"Well, whatever you remember, you know, whatever sticks out in your mind," Maria replies, smiling encouragingly.

"Well...he was a stubborn bastard, I remember that. And, uh, whatever the game, he hated to lose, you know? It's that whole Marine thing," the owner says. Sam, Dean, and Maria nod. "But, oh, he sure loved Mary. And he doted on those kids."

"But that was before the fire?" Sam asks.

"That's right," replies the owner.

"He ever talk about that night?" Sam asks.

"No, not at first. I think he was in shock."

"Right," Sam says. "But eventually? What did he say?"

"Oh, he wasn't thinkin' straight. He said somethin' caused that fire and killed Mary," the owner says.

"He ever say what did it?" Dean asks.

"Nothin' did it. It was an accident - an electrical short in the ceiling or walls or something. I begged him to get some help, but..."

"But what?" Maria says, anxious for the man to continue.

"Oh, he just got worse and worse."

"How?" Dean asks.

"Oh, he started reading these strange ol' books. He started goin' to see this palm reader in town."

"Palm reader?" Dean asks. "Uh, do you have a name?"

"No," the owner scoffs.

* * *

Dean parks the Impala by a payphone and Sam gets out to check the phonebook for any psychics in the area. Maria sits stretched out in the back seat, her father's hunting journal in her lap, flipping through the pages and looking for any hint of a psychic. Dean watches her in the rearview mirror, unsure of Maria's state of mind. He isn't as emotionally in-tune with her as Sam is, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know when something's bothering her. He figures it's just being back home for the first time in a long time. He knows she'll tell him when she's ready.

"All right, so there are a few psychics and palm readers in town. There's someone named El Divino," Sam says as he sits back in the Impala, the ripped page from the phonebook in his hands. Dean and Maria's eyes snap to him. "There's, uh - there's the Mysterious Mister Fortinsky. Uh, Missouri Moseley-"

"Wait, wait. Missouri Moseley?" Maria asks suddenly.

"What?" Sam and Dean ask in unison.

"That's a psychic?" Maria asks, a bit skeptically.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I guess so," Sam replies. Maria flips their father's journal to the very first page.

"In Dad's journal...here, look at this," she says, handing the journal to Sam. "First page, first sentence, read that."

"I went to Missouri and I learned the truth," Sam reads.

"I always thought he meant the state," Maria says, smiling slightly.

* * *

Maria, Dean, and Sam open the door to Missouri Moseley's house and walk into her foyer, which serves as a waiting room. The siblings sit on a couch and wait just as Missouri walks out of another room, escorting a man past them and out of the house.

"All right there. Don't you worry 'bout a thing. Your wife is crazy about you," Missouri says to the man. He thanks her and she closes the door behind him. "Whew. Poor bastard. His woman is cold-bangin' the gardener."

"Why didn't you tell him?" Dean asks her, as Sam and Maria's eyes widen a bit in surprise.

"People don't come here for the truth. They come for good news," Missouri explains. Sam, Dean, and Maria just stare at her. "Well? Maria, Sam, and Dean, come on already. I ain't got all day."

Missouri leaves the room. The Winchester siblings exchange a confused look before standing up and following her into the next room.

"Well, lemme look at ya," Missouri laughs. "Oh, Maria, you grew up so pretty; you got your daddy's look about you. And you boys grew up handsome. And you were one goofy-lookin' kid, too," she continues, pointing at Dean. Dean glares at her while Sam smirks and Maria stifles a giggle. Missouri grabs Sam's hand before continuing.

"Sam. Oh, honey...I'm sorry about your girlfriend," she says. Sam, Dean, and Maria look at her in shock. "And your father - he's missin'?"

"How'd you know all that?" Sam asks her quietly.

"Well, you were thinking it just now," Missouri replies.

"Well, where is he?" Maria asks. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know," Missouri tells her.

"Don't know?" Dean asks. "Well, you're supposed to be a psychic, right?"

"Boy, you see me sawin' some bony tramp in half? You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air. Sit, please," Missouri says. Sam, Dean, and Maria do as she says and sit on a couch. Missouri settles into a chair and snaps at Dean. "Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I'mma whack you with a spoon!"

"I didn't do anything," Dean says defensively.

"But you were thinkin' about it," Missouri replies. Dean raises his eyebrows as Sam smirks. Maria, however, gets right down to business.

"Okay. So, our dad - when did you first meet him?" Maria asks.

"He came for a reading. A few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you could say...I drew back the curtains for him."

"What about the fire?" Dean asks. "Do you know about what killed our mom?"

"A little," Missouri replies. "Your daddy took me to your house. He was hopin' I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing."

"And could you?" Sam asks.

"I..." Missouri begins, but shakes her head.

"What was it?" Maria asks.

"I don't know," Missouri replies softly. "Oh, but it was evil."


End file.
